Get the most out of your irrigation with expert advice

Palmquist recommends pairing that app with another free online tool, “How Much Water?” (https://waterwonk.us/how-much/).

“You can find out how many gallons any plant needs at any time in any incorporated city in California,” she explains. “(Gallon estimates) are based on the diameter of the (plant’s) canopy. It also provides estimates based on square footage for veggie beds or other plantings.

“If you hand-water, you can find out how many gallons those plants really need – and not just soak it.”

Watering less actually can be beneficial for most plants, Palmquist notes, which leads to one of her top irrigation tips:

“Water all of the plants in your landscape like low-water plants,” she instructs. “Program your irrigation for ‘low-water,’ then just (give) extra hand-watering to plants that complain the loudest.

“You can do this in stages,” she adds. “Reduce your run times by 10 percent, wait two weeks, see what happens, then reduce your run times 10 percent more. (As a homeowner), you have eyes on your landscape; you can see the effects.”

Some plants (such as hydrangeas) likely will need a little more water. Use that “How Much Water?” app to help determine that amount. Which brings up another question: How much water is coming out of the hose?

“Use a hose-end water meter,” Palmquist suggests. “Attach it to your hose and you know exactly how much water. You can dial in how many gallons each plant needs when hand-watering instead of just soaking them.”

An alternative: Use a 5-gallon bucket. With a stopwatch (included on most smartphones), time how long it takes to fill that bucket. The result shows the flow rate from that hose.

Tune-up tips

To get the most out of your system, Palmquist also suggests these irrigation tune-up tips:

– Flush your sprinklers and driplines. “Debris can accumulate in pipes and tubing, which can clog lines.”

– Turn on each irrigation zone individually and check for leaks and breaks, then fix them promptly.

– Reduce run-off as much as possible. Not only does it waste water, but run-off goes untreated into creeks and rivers, carrying possible pollutants.

– Check times to run-off for each irrigation zone. Turn on the sprinklers and time how long it takes before water runs off. That will determine a limit for run times. “If you see run-off after 5 minutes, set the timer for 4 minutes.”

– Use the cycle-and-soak method (especially helpful for clay soils). Determine how much total water an irrigation zone needs and break it into time blocks, spaced an hour or more apart. That allows water to soak in without running off.

Resources:

Find the Sacramento Region Smart Irrigation Scheduler at https://beyondthedrought.com/index2.php.

For more on Lori Palmquist and her irrigation resources: https://puddle-stompers.com/.

More resources and irrigation help (including rebates): https://bewatersmart.info/.